Historiography and Sources of Military and Technical Preparations of the Western Special Military District in 1939-1941

The history of fortifications in modern times were not the subject of detailed historical studies neither in Belarus nor post-Soviet states until recent time. The literature concerning Soviet long-term fortifications in Belarus may be divided into two groups. The first one includes books and articles about various aspects of the history of USSR in the inter-war period, which discuss the issues of military and technical preparation of USSR's borders to a greater or smaller extent, and the second one, which includes specialist works on fortification construction in Belarus and a role of fortifications in the fights in the initial period of the Great Patriotic War. Polish authors' research is worth noticing among foreign publications. The main object of these authors' research was a system of Soviet fortifications along a new Soviet-German border (so called 'Molotov Line') in 1939-1941. No wonder, as the greater part of long-term fortification objects (Zambrow and Osowiec wholly Fortified Region, Przemysk, Raworusk, Brest and Hrodna region - in major part) became after WW II the part of the territory of contemporary Poland. Polish historians pay attention to general methodological problems of research on pre-war Soviet fortifications and individual historical-fortification complexes, including Brest and Hrodna Fortified Region. Belorussian historiography practically lacks publications on tactical and technical-constructive characteristics of individual complexes and long-term fortification buildings as well as their weapons and interior equipment. Despite some success of Belorussian and foreign researchers (first of all the Polish ones), a great part of the 20th century Belarus fortification heritage remains insufficiently explored, and in many cases - not embraced by scientific research at all.